— After hearing and feeling "the pop" in his left knee, Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Travis Long certainly wasn't thinking the worst. After all, he had experienced a torn anterior cruciate ligament before, and this wasn't that.

Or so he thought.

He found out he had indeed torn the ACL the day after the Eagles wrapped up their 2014 preseason and the coaches began to agonize over the final roster cuts.

So in a sense, his injury made it just a little easier on them, because, as head coach Chip Kelly confirmed Tuesday, Long was going to make the team. Instead, he went on the injured reserve list, done for the season before it began but protected for 2015.

"I came in the next day and they told me I tore it," Long said during organized team activities on Tuesday. "I was kind of in disbelief. Like, 'Seriously, I've got to do this again? I've got to go through this entire process again?' … It didn't swell up the next day, it didn't do anything. That's why I was kind of like: 'I don't believe this.'"

Long actually was playing inside linebacker when he tore up his left knee in that preseason game against the Jets. But he was playing outside as well throughout the summer and was likely going to play on the outside once the season started.

With all the acquisitions Kelly has made to bolster the inside spots, Long now is just on the outside, which suits him better anyway.

"He's really right back to where he was," Kelly said, "really contributing well on special teams and he's making a push for it at outside linebacker."

Long may even take over the third OLB role that Brandon Graham filled well enough last season to be promoted to starter with the departure of Trent Cole. Last year's first-round pick, Marcus Smith, might have something to say about that. But if each perform well this summer, there's no reason both can't rotate in behind Graham and fellow starter Connor Barwin.

Long's journey has been beyond long. In fact, the 2013 Washington State graduate has never played in an NFL game.

His first ACL injury, which happened with his right knee, had something to do with that as well. It occurred right at the end of his senior season, which made him unable to perform at the NFL Scouting Combine or his team's pro day.

The Eagles finally signed him as an undrafted free agent two years ago, but he spent all of 2013 rehabbing from his first surgery.

Long was a camp standout in 2014 before going down again. He will turn 24 next month.

"You kind of find out what your priorities are and what you really care about," he said of recovering from his second ACL tear. "And I really do care about football. As hard as it is sometimes, it's something I still care about."

Long cared enough to push through yet another season without any football, pushing aside any distractions while keeping his focus on the ultimate reward.

Now, at least in the early phases of the offseason, it appears he has picked up where he left off.

"He's moving around extremely well, especially coming off that injury," outside linebackers coach Bill McGovern said. "Just the reports we got back from the training room and the weight room about his rehab and the job that he did in terms of his workouts and his rehab were just phenomenal, just a real tribute to him, what he did.

"It's great to have him back running around out here, it really is. He's a tremendous young man with everything he's gone through. But he just keeps coming back and shows up every day. I'm really happy to see that he's back out here again."

For the record, this is how McGovern described the state of his group: "We're pretty much who we are right now at outside linebacker. You know, it's Connor and [Graham] there [as the starters]. And then it's Travis and Bryan [Braman] and we're waiting on Marcus. And that's really who we are right now."

Long is not looking back, not worrying what could happen if he wrecks one of his knees again.

"I've learned throughout all my injuries to take it one day at a time," he said, "and whatever happens, happens, good or bad."

Long caught the eye of Kelly, Oregon's coach from 2009 through '12, which helped him get in the door. Everything else he's done on his own.